A Newsletter of the Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation Special 2007 Anniversary Edition At 50, a ‘New’ Jamestown Settlement Commemorates and Interprets the Past, Looks Toward the Future amestown Settlement, which opened April 1, 1957, as Jamestown Festival Park, the Commonwealth of Virginia’s setting for Jthe 350th anniversary of the founding of America’s first permanent English colony, is a stage for the 400th-anniversary commemoration in 2007 and is positioned to serve the public in the decades ahead. Though key elements of 1957’s Jamestown Festival Park — gallery exhibits, outdoor re-cre- ated 17th-century settings and educational purpose — remain, Jamestown Settlement has been transformed for the 21st century with new state-of- Artists’ renderings provide bird’s-eye views of Jamestown Festival Park in 1957 (right) the-art facilities, exhibits and Jamestown Settlement today (above). and programs. Virginia with vivid images, the personal The site accomplished major milestones in 1987, with accreditation by the stories of an array of individuals who had American Association of Museums, and in 1990, with a change in name to a role in shaping a new society, and the 1616 English silver-gilt Jamestown Settlement and the introduction of a new story line and growing commentary of contemporary observers. steeple cup; Owo, West Africa, collection in new 15,000-square-foot exhibition galleries. The new galleries provide a setting ivory bracelet; Virginia Since the adoption of a comprehensive facilities master plan by the James- for one of the most varied collections Indian late Woodland town-Yorktown Foundation Board of Trustees in 1997, a 143,000-square-foot of objects relating to the nation’s period stone bead carved in the form of a face. visitor services and gallery complex has been completed. The complex beginnings in 17th-century Virginia. Jamestown-Yorktown houses classrooms, staff work space, visitor information and ticketing, gift During the past 20 years, the collec- Foundation collection. shops, café, theater and exhibition galleries. Also in place is new roadway ac- tion has been developed to support cess to Jamestown Settlement and a parking area that accommodates more the museum’s story line and includes than 500 guest vehicles, doubling previous capacity. Flags of the 50 states lin- objects representative of the Powhatan ing the Jamestown Settlement Quadricentennial Plaza mark the approach from Indian, European and African cultures automobile parking to the museum entrance. that converged in 1600s While the 1957 Jamestown Festival Park exhibits were educational, the ma- Virginia. More than 500 artifacts, jor improvements of 1990 and recent scholarship have provided the basis for a including portraits, documents, comprehensive examination of 17th-century Virginia’s Powhatan Indian, English furnishings, toys, ceremonial and and African cultures in new Jamestown Settlement exhibits. decorative objects, tools and weap- A new introductory film, 1607: A Nation Takes Root, and 30,000-square- ons, are integrated into a gallery setting foot exhibition space bring to life the events and environment of 17th-century that features three-dimensional life-size structures, audio and lighting effects, and small-theater presentations. An extensive revitalization of the outdoor interpretive areas was an important component of the facilities master plan. A new river- front discovery area highlights the role of the James River and other waterways in 17th-century travel, commerce and cultural exchange, reflecting Powhatan Indian, Jamestown Settlement’s Quadricentennial Plaza (right), European and African traditions. lined with the flags of the 50 states, is a focal point for Here, historical interpreters make visitors arriving at Jamestown Settlement. State flags also were a feature of Jamestown Festival Park (above). continued on page 2 Jamestown Settlement Commemorates continued from page 1 and repair watercraft, compare methods of fishing, display examples of trade items and commodities, and discuss mapping and navigation. A Paspahegh site found archaeologically a few miles from Jamestown in the 1990s serves as the model for a reconfiguration of the Powhatan Indian village. The Paspa- heghs were the Powhatan tribal group that lived closest to the English settle- ment at Jamestown. Six full-size buildings, made of sapling frames covered with reed mats, have been re-creat- ed from the archae- ological site, which dates to the early 17th century and is depicted in entirety in a scale model inside the mu- 1957 exhibits (represented above left) depicting Jamestown’s British origins and the contributions of Virginians to the development of the United States were replaced seum galleries. The in 1990 with a new research- and collection-based story line (above right). Today’s Powhatan village is Jamestown Settlement galleries are located in a 40,000-square-foot building, shown Boatbuilding techniques of Powhatan, African and bordered by a new below, part of a new 143,000-square-foot visitor services and gallery complex. The European cultures are demonstrated and compared at brick “Discovery Tower” at right is the only architectural feature remaining from 1957. Jamestown Settlement’s new riverfront discovery area. discovery trail using plantings and signage to interpret the relationship of the Powhatans to the environment. A new Godspeed and Discovery have joined the Susan Constant to represent the three ships that ar- rived in Virginia in 1607. At the pier where the ships are docked, an open-sided structure resembling a 17th-cen- tury waterfront building provides additional space and shelter for maritime demonstrations. Architectural de- signs for the two new ships were based on the historically documented tonnages, or cargo capacities, of the original A new Godspeed, shown below, and vessels and extensive research of 17th-century ships. The new Discovery have joined the Susan Susan Constant was replaced in 1991. Constant at the Jamestown Settlement pier. The first-generation replicas of continued on page 8 the three ships that brought English colonists to Virginia in 1607, built in the 1950s, are shown (left) at Jamestown Festival Park. At the Powhatan Indian village (right), six full-size buildings have been re-created from an early 17th-century archaeological site. Other features of the village are a garden, outdoor fire pits and work stations where historical interpreters demonstrate how the Powhatans cultivated crops, prepared meals and made household objects and tools from materials available from nature. “Powhatan’s Lodge” (above) was a feature of Jamestown Festival Park. Jamestown Settlement’s new exhibition galleries describe the “parent” cultures of 17th-century Virginia and the interaction that helped shape a distinctly American character. Pictured are a diorama representing a setting in Angola, homeland of the first known Africans in Virginia and an exhibit about Powhatan seasons; a full-scale partial re-creation of the Susan Constant, one of the three ships that sailed to Virginia in 1607, with interactive exhibits on cargo and navigation inside; and re-creations, based on archaeological sites, of a late 17th-century Indian cabin, slave quarter and planter’s house. 2 SEE OTHER FILE FOR Special Events, Themes Events Mark PAGES 1 & America’s 400th Anniversary in 2007 n 2007, as in 1957, a milestone tively, on African heritage, the first Ianniversary of the founding representative assembly in British of Jamestown in May 1607 is com- America, and the culture and legacy 2 memorated throughout Virginia’s of Virginia Indians. The 2007 Historic Triangle with new multimil- Heritage Lecture Series features lion-dollar exhibits and visitor facili- nationally prominent scholars on ties, major events these and other topics. and educational A yearlong special exhibition, Launching the 400th-anniversary year, programs. The “The World of 1607,” opening at the Virginia General Assembly convened at Jamestown Settlement on January 10 Jamestown- Jamestown Settlement on April for Governor Timothy M. Kaine’s State 27, portrays Jamestown and of the Commonwealth address, which Virginia as part of an intellec- was broadcast by WCVE Richmond PBS tual, social and economic “new from the Robins Foundation Theater. United States Mint Director Edmund C. world” that brought together Moy was at Jamestown Settlement the peoples and ideas from around next day for a ceremony announcing the the globe. issue of gold and silver commemora- tive coins in honor of Jamestown’s 400th Jamestown Settlement’s re-created Susan Constant, anniversary and to sign Certificates of Godspeed and Discovery have significant roles in events Authenticity for coins purchased at the commemorating the 400th anniversary of the founding Jamestown Settlement gift shop. of Jamestown. The three ships will be Participants in the ceremony were off First Landing State Park April 26 and (below, left to right) National Park 27 to mark the 400th anniversary of the Service Jamestown 400th Project Yorktown original ships’ arrival at Cape Henry and Director Alexander L. (Sandy) Rives, Foundation will sail in the James River on May 12, APVA Preservation Virginia Executive has worked during America’s Anniversary Weekend. Director Elizabeth Kostelny, Mr. Moy, The Godspeed participated in a good- Jamestown 2007 Executive Director actively with will tour to six East Coast ports in 2006, Jeanne Zeidler, Jamestown-Yorktown state, local the inaugural event of America’s 400th Foundation Co-Chairman Thomas K. and